


Small Town Secrets

by The_Devil_In_The_Details_666



Series: All The Batfam BS [90]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Small Town, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Alternate Universe- Hallmark Christmas movie with a weird supernatural mystery twist, F/F, Hey look it's another WIP, Jason is the weird small town hermit that everyone is suspicious of and Tim is the new guy in town, M/M, Not even remotely canon compliant, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:20:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28497471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Devil_In_The_Details_666/pseuds/The_Devil_In_The_Details_666
Summary: Tim Drake ends up in the small mountain town of Hood and plans to rent an apartment from the town lunatic, Jason Todd. He ends up with an apartment and so, so much more.
Relationships: Stephanie Brown/Cassandra Cain, Tim Drake/Jason Todd
Series: All The Batfam BS [90]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1514906
Comments: 42
Kudos: 195





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So my mother has an obsession with A) Murder mysteries and B) Hallmark romance movies, especially the ones with magic as part of the plot. As a result, I have been forced to sit through way too many of both and have decided that I'm going to write this. Do I have even the vaguest idea of what I'm doing? No. Is that going to stop me? Also no.

Tim looked around the tiny town of Hood with a growing sense of dread in his gut, his duffel bag over one shoulder as he rifled through his pockets, looking for the card with the address Dick had given him. It was supposedly for an apartment for rent and he finally located the card, stuffed in with his keys and pack of tissues. He pulled out both the card and a tissue, using the latter to blow his nose and muttering a few choice words about his plague-rat brother, then looked at the address on the card, trying to decipher Dick’s handwriting. A blonde woman walked over, holding hands with a black-haired woman, and greeted, “Hi there! Are you new to Hood?”

Tim gave them a weak smile, knowing he must look like hot garbage thanks to a hellishly long trip and his unrelenting Hell-cold, then answered, “Yeah, actually.”

The blonde grinned, stating, “Well, welcome. I’m Steph and this is Cass. We run the sporting goods shop, right over there.”

She pointed out a brick building with a purple awning, then looked at Tim expectantly. Tim, running on five days of no sleep, stared back at her for a solid thirty seconds before the hamster wheel in his brain started turning and he blurted, “Oh, sorry, uh, I’m Tim. Tim Drake. Sorry, long flight.”

Steph laughed, chirping, “Don’t worry about it. What brings you to Hood, anyway?”

Tim winced, then answered, “Long story.”

Cass nodded, then asked quietly, “Where are you staying?”

Tim looked back at the card in his hand, squinting and wishing he had his glasses handy, then answered, “Uhhhh, 13… Lazarus Street? I think. Apparently the owner had an apartment for rent?”

Steph’s eyebrow arched and she traded a glance with Cass, then asked, “Seriously? You’re planning to rent the spare apartment above  _ Jason Todd’s _ place?”

Tim shrugged, replying, “I guess? Why? Is something wrong?”

Steph shifted from foot to foot, glancing around, then leaned closer and whispered, “Jason Todd is the town lunatic. There’s rumors he did time for murder. He owns the whole building and apparently the whole place is just cursed. Last person to stay there was some businessman who was planning to stay a few months. He stayed three nights before just up and leaving in the middle of the night. Taylor Hawson, she runs the grocery store, said that she saw him running out of town with his suitcase like he had a demon after him. No one has ever stayed there longer than a week.”

Tim nodded, making a mental note, then answered, “So you’re saying that staying there is probably a terrible idea?”

  
  
“Oh yeah. The dude is deranged.”

Tim nodded again, requesting, “Good. Mind pointing me in the direction of 13 Lazarus Street?”

Steph looked surprised, then asked, “You’re really gonna stay there?”

Tim shrugged, stating, “My brother wanted me sent somewhere that I can’t make bad life choices. I’d like to remind him exactly who he’s messing with.”


	2. Chapter 2

13 Lazarus Street was a large, 2-story building on the outskirts of Hood, with a large red awning and a battered sign that read “Red’s Books” in faded, peeling paint. Steph stared at the building like she thought it was going to come alive and eat her and Tim studied the building, taking in the details. The brick of the building was free of vines or moss, clearly cared for in a way that the rest of the buildings on the street didn’t appear to be. The whole street felt like a sharp contrast from the warm, lively, homey feel of Main Street and Steph shivered, then stated, “When you change your mind about staying here, I can set you up with a friend of mine. She’s got a spare room that she’s willing to rent out.”

Tim pulled his coat a little tighter, breaking into a coughing fit for a few minutes, then finally straightened and answered, “I probably won’t change my mind. I’ve been told that I’m stubborn.”

Steph looked doubtful and Tim shifted his bag on his shoulder, then approached the door of the bookstore, opening it and stepping in. The door squealed like it hadn’t been opened in years and Tim made a face at the noise, then closed it behind him. The bookstore was crowded with mismatched shelves, haphazardly stacked with books, and Tim gave them a cursory glance as he approached the desk, calling, “Hello? Anyone home? I’m here about the apartment?”

Silence. Tim frowned, setting his duffel down by his feet, and broke into another coughing fit. His eyes watered as he coughed and wheezed into his elbow and, when it finally let up, a man’s voice behind him suddenly stated, “You sound like you’re trying to hack up a lung.”

Tim jolted in surprise, spinning on his heel to look at the man who had snuck up on him. The man was tall, at least 6-foot if not taller, and built like a tank, with black hair that had a little floof of white above piercing teal eyes. Tim blinked up at him for a moment, trying to pull together a thought other than _Shit, he’s hot_ , and finally answered, “Eh, who needs lungs? All the cool kids have gills.”

He then immediately wanted to turn and walk out into the snowy woods, never to return, because _dammit, Tim, that was unbelievably dorky_. To his surprise, the absurdly attractive man just gave a soft, amused huff and asked, “You said you’re here about the apartment?”

Tim nodded, then replied, “Yep. Tim Drake. You must be Jason Todd?”

“Astute observation. This way.”

Tim raised an eyebrow, grabbing his bag and following Jason back through a small door behind the desk and up a set of narrow stairs that were made even narrower by the stacks of books that choked them. They soon reached the door at the top of the stairs and Jason opened it, letting them into a small little mudroom looking space, with a door on either side and a small rack with three pairs of shoes neatly organized on it. Jason fished a set of keys out of his pocket and unlocked the door to the right, with a crooked ‘2’ hanging on it. He opened the door, leading Tim in, and stated, “This is the apartment available.”

Tim set his bag down by the door and stepped in to take a look at the apartment. It was nice, with a comfy looking couch and large windows overlooking the street. The kitchen was small, but it had a coffee maker and a microwave, which was all Tim needed (or really knew how to use well), and the bedroom had a nice cozy bed. Tim nodded as he looked around, then asked, “If I rent it, would I be allowed to move the furniture around?”

Jason shrugged one shoulder, then answered, “Sure.”

Tim nodded, asking, “Does the building have WiFi?”

“Yep.”

Tim nodded again, looking around the apartment one more time, then stated, “I’ll take it.”

Jason nodded and Tim pulled out his checkbook after a few moments of trying to remember which pocket it was tucked into. Jason took the key off his keyring as Tim filled out the check, then passed him the key once Tim passed him the check. Then he gave Tim a nod and stated, “If you need anything, I’m pretty much always here. Either downstairs or in there.”

He jabbed a thumb at the other door, then turned and headed back down the stairs. Tim closed the apartment door, locking it, then picked up his bag, carrying it over to the couch and unzipping it. His clothes were soon hanging in the closet, his laptop bag on the bed, and a single framed picture of him with Dick and Bruce on the bedside table. He threaded the key onto his keyring, then turned on his phone to check the time, ignoring his dozen missed calls from Dick and Bruce. His stomach rumbled and Tim sighed, shoving his phone into his pocket and pulling his coat and snow boots on. He jammed his hat on his head, sneezing, then made his way down the stairs and back out into the snowy street, heading towards the grocery store that Steph had pointed out when she was showing him there. The store was relatively small, but Tim got a bag of frozen chicken nuggets and some coffee and breakfast supplies for the next morning, as well as some toiletries. He plopped them down on the counter and the teen girl behind the counter, whose name tag read ‘Emma’, stated, “You must be the new guy that Steph mentioned.”

Tim nodded, fishing in his pockets for his wallet and turning to cough into his elbow, and Emma continued, “Is it true you’re renting out Jason Todd’s spare apartment?”

“Yep. Hey, do you guys have any cough drops or something? Nyquil, maybe?”

Emma led Tim back to the back corner of the store, where they apparently had a small little pharmacy section. Tim grabbed one of everything cold and flu related and followed Emma back up to the counter as she asked, “Is it true that the apartment has a human skeleton hanging on the wall?”

Tim squinted at her, then looked down at his armful of cold and flu medicine and asked, “Do you have a thermometer or something I could get, too?”

Emma looked disappointed at his lack of answer, but returned to the little pharmacy section, emerging a moment later with a digital thermometer. They returned to the counter and, as she began scanning Tim’s groceries, he stated, “And no, there’s not a human skeleton.”

Emma looked even more disappointed at Tim’s answer than she had at his lack thereof, then asked, “What about the pentagram? Is it true that there’s a pentagram on the floor?”

Tim stared at her for a moment, then, with as much sarcasm as he could muster, he answered, “Yes, and as soon as I mentioned that I was planning to rent, he asked me if I was a virgin and told me that the baby sacrifices are every Wednesday at 8:45 AM on the dot.”

Emma huffed and Tim rubbed his forehead to alleviate the building headache, sighing, “Look, as far as I can tell, it’s a perfectly normal apartment. No dead bodies, no suspicious smells, not even any ominous screaming or spooky cold spots. Just a regular old apartment and a landlord who seems fine, if somewhat unsociable.”

Emma looked even more disappointed at that, then answered, “That’s boring. Your total is $78.53. Cash or card?”

“Card.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

15 minutes later, Tim was putting his groceries away and cracking open the bottle of cough syrup, taking a dose of it. Then he collapsed on the couch, draping an arm over his eyes and promptly passing out.


	3. Chapter 3

When he woke up and checked his phone, Tim had 86 missed calls from Dick and an additional 62 from Bruce. Tim groaned, hauling himself off the couch and shedding his coat, scarf, hat, and gloves to put by the door. Then he wandered into the kitchen and pulled out the bag of chicken nuggets, tossing some on a plate and sticking them in the microwave as he selected Dick’s number and hit call. He had barely put the phone to his ear when Dick picked up, asking, “Tim? Are you okay? Why didn’t you answer our calls?”

Tim rubbed his forehead again, wondering if he should take some decongestant, then answered, “I’m fine, Dick. I was busy getting settled into my apartment and then I fell asleep.”

The microwave beeped and Dick asked, “What was that? Was that the fire alarm? Tim-”

“It was the fucking microwave, Dick. Now, I want you to take three deep breaths and remember that I am, in fact, a fully functional adult human who is perfectly capable of keeping myself alive. Now, either calm down and trust me to take care of myself like I have been for years or… Honestly, I don’t even know what the other option there is. Convince Bruce that exiling me to some tiny town on the other side of the country was actually a terrible idea, even though it was your idea?”

Tim winced slightly at how bitter he sounded and Dick protested, “It’s not exile, Tim, you’re allowed to come home, but… We’re just, we’re worried about you! You’re 24 and Dr. Thompkins said that you were having  _ heart problems _ from  _ stress _ and that you need to take a break, but you wouldn’t and-”

Tim tuned him out, having heard the exact same speech right before Dick informed him that he was being forcibly relocated to Hood until they decided otherwise. He poked the nuggets, which were still frozen in the middle, then stuck them back in the microwave and finally interrupted Dick’s rambling, cutting in, “Yeah, yeah, for my own good, whatever. Listen, the apartment building you and Bruce sent me to, do you know anything about the owner?”

Dick hesitated for a moment, then answered, “I mean, B did a background check, obviously, but I’ve never met the guy. Jason Todd, right? Why?”

Tim stared at his nuggets as they turned, then answered, “Just curious. What’d the check turn up?”

“Not much. No social media, minimal online presence, pretty limited information. Why, does something seem off?”

“Nah, just nosy. You know me.”

Dick hummed, sounding doubtful, and Tim pulled his nuggets out of the microwave, then stated, “I’m gonna call B so he doesn’t have an aneurysm. Talk to you later, Dick.”

Dick said his goodbye and Tim ended the call, selecting Bruce’s contact and hitting the call. Bruce picked up just as quickly as Dick had and Tim greeted, “Hey, B. Before you even start, I’m fine. I was getting settled in my apartment and then fell asleep.”

Bruce gave a little ‘Hrrm’ and Tim rolled his eyes as he walked over to the couch, dropping down on it and setting his nuggets on the coffee table as Bruce asked, “How is the apartment?”

“Nice enough. Comfy. Great couch.”

“And the landlord?”

Tim rolled his eyes again, stating, “He seems fine, if a bit awkward.”

Bruce hummed again, then asked, “How are you settling in?”

Tim picked up one chicken nugget, taking a bite, and took a moment to chew and swallow before answering, “Fine. I bought groceries and maybe befriended some of the locals, kinda. I dunno. I’m still not too happy about being here.”

Bruce was silent and Tim rolled his eyes, then stated, “My dinner is getting cold, so I’m going to hang up now. I’ll call you at some point. Bye.”

Bruce gave a grunt that Tim interpreted as “Talk to you later”, then ended the call. Tim tossed his phone on the table, scooping up his plate of nuggets, and settled back on the couch, making a mental note to get the WiFi information from Jason after he ate.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once Tim had eaten and taken a dose of decongestant, he headed down the stairs to the bookshop, where he found Jason sitting in a comfy-looking armchair, a mug of tea in one hand and a well-worn book in his lap, a pencil behind one ear. Tim knocked on the bookshelf to announce his presence, then asked, “You mentioned that the building has WiFi. Do I need a password or anything for it?”

Jason glanced up from his book, then set his tea down and wordlessly grabbed a sticky note from the table beside him, jotting something down and holding the note out silently as he looked back at his book. Tim stepped forward to take the note, which had the WiFi information, then checked, “Any limit on how many devices I can connect?”

Jason glanced up at him, then answered, “No more than eight.”

Tim raised an eyebrow and Jason looked back at his book, clearly projecting ‘Leave me alone’ vibes. Tim, being Tim, specialized in ignoring those vibes and asked, “Any recommendations for restaurants in the area?”

Jason sighed, then tucked a scrap of paper into his book and closed it, answering, “Not really. I cook for myself.”

“Damn.”

Jason sighed, taking a swig of his tea, then asked, “Any other questions?”

“Nope.”

Jason nodded, then opened his book back up and began reading again as Tim retreated to hook his laptop up to the WiFi.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The morning after moving to Hood, Tim woke up relatively early and got dressed to head out. Then he headed down the stairs and out of the bookshop, heading towards Main Street to see about getting some stamps at the post office. He entered the post office, making his way over to wait in the line, and nearly jumped out of his skin when a cheery female voice called, “Tim! Hi!”

Turning, he found Steph waving at him, a large package tucked under one arm. She gave him a bright smile and Tim smiled back, greeting, “Hi, Steph.”

She moved to stand beside him, asking, “So, did you end up renting Jason Todd’s place?”

Tim raised an eyebrow, then answered, “Yep.”

“Really? What’d you think of him?”

Tim hummed thoughtfully, then answered, “Eh, nice enough, just kinda aloof and quiet. Doesn’t seem that freaky.”

Steph gave him a doubtful look, but shrugged and asked, “How’re you settling in?”

Tim looked at her out of the corner of his eye, then stated, “Pretty well, I think. The apartment is nice and I got groceries yesterday.”

Steph nodded and, after a moment, Tim asked, “Any recommendations for restaurants in the area?”

Steph tapped her chin, then answered, “Honestly, there’s only three restaurants in a fifty mile radius and they’re all good, so…”

“So just go to any of them?”

“Yep.”

Tim nodded, then turned to cough into his elbow, hacking and wheezing until he was dizzy. When he finally stopped, Steph looked slightly alarmed and asked, “You okay, Tim?”

Tim nodded, waving away her concern, and answered, “I’m fine, it’s just a bad cold. I’m not going to keel over and die.”

“If you’re sure. If you need a doctor, though, Dr. Lane is your guy. He’s the best in town.”

Tim made a mental note, then stepped up to the counter to get his stamps. He had revenge to mail, after all. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Steph had vanished by the time Tim had his stamps and Tim headed back to the apartment building, where he found Jason carefully re-organizing the bookshelves, seemingly at random. Jason glanced up when Tim entered, giving a nod, and Tim waved, then paused and asked, “Any idea where I could buy a shitload of glitter?”

Jason was silent for a moment, staring at Tim like Tim had just grown a second head, and finally asked, “What for?”

“Mailing to my dad and older brother.”

Jason was silent for another moment, then silently stood and walked away. Tim frowned, but shrugged it off and had started to head for the staircase. He had just reached it when another coughing fit overtook him and he was forced to sit down on the staircase, trying to breathe. When it finally let up, Jason stated, “You’d better not die on my staircase.”

Tim scowled up at him, then nearly went cross-eyed when a large container of ultra-fine red glitter was shoved in his face. He took it, looking at Jason in confusion, and Jason shrugged one shoulder in response to Tim’s unasked question, stating, “It was tossed in with my last book shipment. The seller told me to just keep it.”

Tim gave him a smile that quickly devolved back into another coughing fit. By the time he had managed to stop, Jason was gone again.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ended up being a bit longer than I thought it was. Oops.

Four days later, three envelopes brimming with ultra-fine red glitter were on their way to Bruce’s office (he wasn’t about to make Alfred deal with glitter when Alfred had been vocally against sending Tim away), Dick’s desk at the precinct, and Dick’s apartment, as well as a second envelope to be sent to Bruce’s office a week after the first. Tim had settled in relatively well, despite still being mad about the whole situation, but the glitter envelopes had gone a long way to soothing his anger and Tim had soon befriended Steph and Cass, as well as Bart Allen, the owner of one of the local restaurants, and Conner Kent, Bart’s friend and the local handyman. Unfortunately, Tim’s cold had not improved and, frustratingly, seemed to be steadily getting worse as the days passed, no matter how much cough syrup, decongestant, and other medicine he took. On Tim’s sixth day in Hood, in fact, he returned from getting groceries and, halfway up the stairs, was overtaken by another fucking coughing fit. His grocery bags slipped from his weak fingers and he collapsed on the stairs, distantly hating the fact that he would have to back down the stairs to collect all of the crap he had dropped. That thought was quickly overtaken by the way that his head spun and his vision started going dark around the edges. Then he was slumping against the wall, his last conscious thought being, “Shit, this sucks.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tim woke up on his couch, a stack of pillows under his back to prop him up and his head foggy. He stared at the ceiling for a moment, brain trying to reconcile the sight with the fact of his last conscious memory being sitting on the stairs, then rolled onto his side, curling in on himself when the action triggered another coughing fit. It was milder than the last, thankfully, and Tim was soon uncurling, intent on going to get his dropped groceries before his frozen foods thawed out. Before he could get up, however, Jason was standing beside the couch, a steaming mug in hand. He pushed the mug into Tim’s hands, expression carefully blank, and Tim stared at him for a moment, then looked down at the mug, which contained tea and had a slice of lemon on the bottom of the mug, pinned in place by the spoon. There was a moment of silence, then Jason stated, “I found you passed out on the stairs.”

Tim looked back up at him, then rasped, “My groceries-”

Another coughing fit cut him off and Jason answered, “Are already put away. The tea is elderberry and peppermint. It can help with the cough and congestion.”

Tim looked back down at the mug, then took a sip. It was surprisingly good and, as he drank, Tim was surprised to find that he actually did feel a hell of a lot better. Jason had disappeared back to the kitchen and Tim could hear something bubbling on the stove as the smell of chicken noodle soup reached him. He set the mug on the coffee table, levering himself up off the couch, and slowly made his way into the kitchen, leaning against the doorframe. Jason was standing in front of a pot, stirring it, and Tim rasped, “Thanks. For hauling me up here and getting my groceries and everything. I really appreciate it.”

Jason hummed in acknowledgement, then stated, “You should go see a doctor. Bronchitis isn’t something to mess around with.”

Tim frowned at his back, answering, “It’s just a cold.”

Jason turned to give him a flat glare that somehow perfectly communicated ‘You are incredibly stupid’, then turned back to the pot with a pointed silence. Tim made a face at the back of his head, but finally sighed, the action sending him into another coughing fit that had him sliding down the doorframe to sit on the floor. When he finally stopped, Jason pulled him to his feet and half-dragged, half-carried Tim back to the couch, plopping him down with a pointed look before returning to the kitchen. Tim stuck his tongue out, then insisted, “It’s just a cold!”

Jason returned a moment later with a bowl of soup that he pushed into Tim’s hands with a reply of, “Your funeral. Eat.”

Tim obediently ate, then, once the bowl was empty, joked, “Do you make tea and soup for all your tenants when they get sick or am I just special?”

Jason took the bowl and mug, then walked into the kitchen without a word. Tim slumped against the pillow pile, already exhausted just from sitting up, and had just started to doze off when Jason returned with Tim’s collection of cold and flu medicine and quietly stated, “Never had a tenant stay long enough to get sick, so you’re the first. I used to take care of my niece when she’d get sick and her dad and step-mom had to work, though.”

Tim blinked, trying to figure out why Jason was telling him that, then remembered his earlier question and nodded, asking, “So you’ve got siblings?”

Jason shrugged, then answered, “No. Roy and Kori are just close friends. Roy’s daughter, Lian, calls me Uncle Jason, though.”

Tim smiled slightly, taking the small cup of cough syrup Jason handed him, then queried, “Do they live in town?”

Jason frowned slightly, then answered, “Not anymore. They live down in Florida.”

“Huh, sucks you can’t see them more often. Still, must be nice having friends like that.”

Jason nodded, passing Tim the small cup of decongestant, and they lapsed into peaceful silence as Tim slowly slumped more and more against the pillows, the medicine hitting him. As his blinks got longer and slower and his brain started to turn off, he curiously asked, “How come the people in town don’t like you?”

Jason’s mouth tightened and he was quiet for a long, long moment, long enough for even Tim, loopy on cough medicine, to realize that he had made a mistake in asking. Then, before Tim could apologize, Jason answered, “It’s a long story.”

Then, before Tim could ask him to elaborate, Jason was up and disappearing back into the kitchen. Tim’s eyes sank shut and he was soon fast asleep, curled up on his couch.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_The room was dark and cold, the only source of light the moon peeking through the clouds. Tim’s whole body hurt and he couldn’t move, could only watch as someone, some_ **_thing_ ** _, circled him, a sound like manic laughter filling the air. Pain exploded through his side, like something had hit him, and the laughter-like sound grew louder before quieting again as a voice taunted, “Foolish boy, thinking you could come and get rid of me.”_

_The only sound was the sound of Tim’s own rasping breaths for a moment, then he found himself answering, “Fuck you.”_

_Pain lanced through his other side and a foot slammed his head into the floor, making Tim’s head spin. The voice tutted, then stated, “Naughty, naughty. And mighty bold for some little brat with no magic or backup.”_

_Before Tim could say a word, his head was slammed into the floor again and the laughter-sound was retreating. Tim lifted his head as a door closed, the sound echoing, and his eyes caught on an enormous bomb connected to a timer. Panic flared in his chest, but Tim couldn’t move, couldn’t do anything but watch as the timer ticked down._

_00:05_

_Someone would come for him. Tim wasn’t sure how he knew, but he knew. They would come. He was sure of it._

_00:04_

_Tim wished he knew magic. He wasn’t sure why the thought crossed his mind, but there it was. He wished he knew magic, like… Like_ someone _._ _Someone who he knew._

_00:03_

_His blood was puddling from his bleeding nose and, in the moonlight, Tim could see his reflection. It was hard to tell with the darkness and the way his face was swollen, but he looked…_ wrong _. He looked like…_

_00:02_

_Who did he look like? Tim knew the face in his reflection, he knew he did, but it was hard to think. He stared at the face, trying to puzzle it together. Who was that face?_

_00:01_

_He looked like Jason. Somehow, someway, he looked like Jason, if Jason lost ten years and about 150 pounds. Why did he look like Jason?_

_00:00_

_The world went white and hot and Tim- or was he Jason- couldn’t breath, he was choking, ash and smoke and pain, so much pain, he was suffocating, he was going to die here and no one would ever-_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tim jerked awake, eyes flying open to fix on the off-white ceiling of his apartment, and he gasped for air, feeling like he was still choking on ash and soot. But no, it was just mucus in his lungs, it was just a dream cooked up by the cough syrup and Tim’s own psyche. Tim repeated that to himself like a mantra as he hauled himself to his feet and dragged himself into the bathroom to shower, trying to scrub the dream away. It didn’t _feel_ like a dream. If anything, it felt like a _memory_ , almost, like when Tim tried to remember his parents, his biological parents, before they died and Bruce took him in. But Tim had never been through something like that, so he put the hyper-realistic drug dream in a mental box and sealed it away, focusing instead on what he needed to get done.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tim waited until the next morning to call Dr. Lane’s office to schedule an appointment for that afternoon. As he got dressed, bundling up for the walk over, he mused on the fact that he was officially at the one week mark, the one that Steph claimed no tenant has ever made it past. Frankly, Tim was wondering if she was just trying to mess with him or scare him off for some reason, because Jason had been nothing but helpful and nice, if a bit socially awkward. He was soon bundled and not looking forward to walking the mile across town to the Dr. Lane’s office in the freshly fallen snow, courtesy of a storm that had blown through the night before while Tim was sleeping, but he was looking forward to dying of either a hell-cold or, if Jason was right, bronchitis, even less, so he made his way down the stairs, tucking his scarf tighter. Jason was rearranging the books again, in just as seemingly random an order as he had been days prior, and he frowned when he saw Tim, stating, “You shouldn’t be going out while you’re still so sick.”

Tim raised an eyebrow, then answered, “I have an appointment with Dr. Lane in an hour. You were the one who told me that I should go see a doctor.”

Jason frowned slightly more, then offered, “Do you want me to drive you over there? Walking a mile in this weather won’t do your health any favors.”

Tim’s eyebrow raised further and he replied, “Can you just shut the shop down in the middle of the day?”

“Not like anyone comes here anyway. This place may as well be my personal collection.”

Tim studied him for a moment, then shrugged, answering, “If you’re sure, that’d be great.”

Jason nodded, setting the books in his arms on the nearest bookshelf that could fit them, then moved to lock the front door of the shop and pull a pair of heavy snow boots on before leading Tim out to a small attached garage that Tim hadn’t realized the building had. It contained two vehicles, a large snowmobile and a motorcycle, and Jason opened the garage, then pulled the snowmobile out onto the snowy road and closed the garage. He settled onto the snowmobile, patting the back of it, and Tim climbed on behind him, clutching the back of Jason’s t-shirt and distantly wondering how the man wasn’t freezing his nuts off in just a t-shirt, sweatpants, and boots. Then the snowmobile was jerking forward and Tim clung closer to Jason with a startled yelp.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Five minute later, they were pulling up in front of a squat brick building and Tim was clambering off the snowmobile. Jason studied him for a moment, then stated, “I’ll wait around here to drive you back. You really shouldn’t be walking across town in this weather.”

Tim frowned, then argued, “You’ll freeze out here. I’ll be fine.”

Jason started to argue, but Tim glared at him and retreated into the office.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An hour later, Tim was leaving Dr. Lane’s office with confirmation that Jason was right. He did, indeed, have bacterial bronchitis. He also had a prescription for antibiotics and some medicine to help with the symptoms at the pharmacy up the street and, after glancing around to see if Jason had stuck around and finding him nowhere, he walked up to the pharmacy to see about getting his prescription filled. He pushed open the door of the pharmacy, coughing into his scarf, then approached the counter, where the pharmacist was talking on the phone, and stated, “I’m here to pick up a prescription for Timothy Drake.”

The pharmacist walked over to grab the correct prescription, still on the phone and, as he sorted through them, he said to whoever was on the other end, “Yes, really, Martha. Someone saw Jason Todd and another guy on a snowmobile riding through town. I wonder if the guy with him is another poor tenant trying to live in that awful cursed bookshop.”

The pharmacist huffed at whoever was on the other end, pulling the correct prescription, and walked back over as Tim furrowed his eyebrows, recalling Steph mentioning that Jason’s shop was cursed as well. The pharmacist handed Tim his prescription, taking Tim’s card when Tim handed it over, and Tim had soon left the pharmacy with his medicine and a bad taste in his mouth. He found Jason sitting on the snowmobile in the small parking lot next door to the pharmacy, looking bored and annoyed with a bruise forming on his cheek, but his expression softened when he saw Tim and he patted the seat behind him. Tim climbed on and they were soon back at the bookstore, where Jason directed Tim to sit in the comfy armchair in the back before vanishing upstairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize if there's any medical inaccuracies, Tim's experiences with bronchitis are based entirely off of my own experiences with it and some brief googling.


	5. Chapter 5

Almost as soon as Tim had settled in the chair, Jason was back with two steaming mugs, one of which he passed to Tim before scooting a pile of books off a wooden chair and settling down in it. Tim took a sip of his tea, then, after a moment of reveling in the way that it almost immediately made him feel better, asked, “What happened to your cheek?”

Jason drank his own tea, then stated, “Some kid threw a snowball with some rocks in it. It’s nothing.”

Tim frowned and leaned forward, arguing, “You could have gotten really hurt, Jason. If the snowball had hit just a few inches higher, you could have lost your eye.”

“But I didn’t. It’s fine, Tim. Don’t worry about it.”

Tim blinked, realizing abruptly that he had never heard Jason say his name before, then blushed slightly as he realized that he _really_ liked the sound of his name on Jason’s lips. The thought was immediately followed up with Tim mentally slapping himself and reminding himself that he was _not_ looking for a relationship. They sat in peaceful silence, just drinking their tea, and Tim finally stated, “I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me, Jason, and I’m happy to pay you back however.”

Jason looked surprised, then answered, “Don’t worry about it. It’s… It’s been a long time since I had someone to talk to. It’s nice.”

Tim felt the sentiment all too well and nodded, taking another sip of his tea.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tim spent the next few days holed up in his apartment, as the medicine Dr. Lane had given him for the symptoms of his bronchitis had the side-effect of being pretty much horse tranquilizers and, consequently, knocking Tim flat on his ass. By the time the antibiotics had done enough of their job for Tim to stop taking the medicine for his symptoms, he had lost three days to doing nothing but sleeping, having some _weird_ fucking dreams, and occasionally getting up to eat or use the bathroom. As such, he was also beginning to go slightly nuts. So, as soon as he thought he could get down the stairs without dying, Tim bundled himself in the least scratchy blanket he had bought at the local store, which was still, Tim suspected, made at least 70% of steel wool, and made his way down to the shop, where he found Jason curled up in his usual armchair, reading. A new armchair had been placed across from it and Tim flopped down into it, sneezing into his elbow and then stating, “You got a new chair in here.”

“Brilliant observation there, Sherlock. Truly, you are a master detective.”

Tim made a face at Jason, who hadn’t even glanced up from his book, and answered, “And a hearty fuck you to you as well, Watson. Perhaps I should go find someone who appreciates my genius.”

That earned an actual laugh from Jason, which made Tim feel all warm and fuzzy inside, and Jason finally looked up from his book, his brow furrowing as he stated, “You’ve lost weight.”

Tim shrugged, frowning at his blanket and trying to find a position that would keep him warm while also not letting the scratchy fabric touch his skin. He finally gave up, kicking the blanket off and resigning himself to freezing, and Jason raised an eyebrow. He reached out to pick up the blanket and then pulled his hand back with a disgusted look on his face almost as soon as he touched it, asking, “What in the world is that thing made of?”

Tim scowled at the blanket, then answered, “I don’t know, but I suspect steel wool and probably nettles. And yet, that is the softest one the store had. The others are so much worse, but I’m cold, so they’ll do until I can get better ones.”

Jason looked particularly displeased with that and set his book aside, stalking out of the room and returning moments later with an enormous, fuzzy lump in his arms, which he proceeded to dump in Tim’s lap. It was a blanket, which smelled vaguely musty but was ridiculously soft and warm. Tim immediately bundled himself up in it, cocooning himself until all that was showing was his face, and Jason’s face softened as he stated, “One of the previous tenants left that and never came back for it. It’s been sitting in the storage closet for years now. You’re welcome to it.”

Tim gave Jason a bright smile, announcing, “You, Jason, are an absolute god.”

Jason snorted even as his ears turned a very cute shade of pink, then settled back in his seat and opened his book back up. Tim nestled into his armchair, pulling his legs up and leaning against the armrest, drifting asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Tim woke up, a small pillow had been tucked under his head to keep him from getting a crick in his neck and Jason was nowhere to be found. Tim yawned, sitting up and uncurling, and adjusted the blanket to wrap around himself as he shuffled out of the backroom and into the shop proper. Something yellow caught his eye outside of the shop and Tim shuffled forward, spotting Steph standing under the awning of the shop, looking conflicted. She kept reaching for the door handle and then pulling her hand away like she thought it would burn her. Rolling his eyes, Tim made his way over and opened the door, greeting, “Hey, Steph. What brings you here?”

Steph looked stunned, like she hadn’t expected to see him, then answered, “Tim! You’re still here! We all thought you’d left town or something!”

Tim blinked in surprise, then asked, “What? Why?”

“Uh, no one has seen you in like three days? Someone said they saw you on a snowmobile with Jason Todd and then you just vanished. There’s rumors going around that he killed you and dumped you in the woods!”

Tim rubbed his forehead, trying to stave off a headache, and waved Steph in, closing the door against the cold wind. Finally, he sighed and explained, “I’ve spent the last three days in my apartment. Jason took me to a doctor’s appointment, since I passed out on the stairs the day prior and he didn’t want me walking a mile across town and probably dying, and I got some medicine that pretty much knocked me out for three days. This is the first time I’ve even been able to make it downstairs.”

Steph winced, then answered, “Oh. I’m sorry. I’m glad you’re okay, though. We’ve been worried about you.”

“Well, I’m fine, aside from dealing with the tail-end of bronchitis.”

Steph nodded, looking around the bookstore and looking deeply uncomfortable, and the door behind the desk opened, Jason stepping out with two mugs of tea in hand. He looked startled to see Steph and she looked like she’d just come face to face with Satan himself. There was a beat of awkward silence, then Tim rolled his eyes and introduced, “Steph, this is Jason Todd. Jason, this is Steph. She came to check up on me and make sure I wasn’t dead.”

Jason nodded in greeting, passing one mug to Tim, and Tim cradled it in his hands to leech its warmth, earning an amused smile from Jason. Steph still looked like she thought Jason was about to pull a knife and stab them both, but Jason just sipped his tea and moved to start rearranging books in what Tim was beginning to suspect was just a habit rather than out of any actual need. Tim took a drink of his own tea, which filled him with a warmth that made him feel less exhausted and weak, then asked, “So, Steph, would you like to come see my apartment?”

Steph blinked in surprise, then, looking deeply terrified at the prospect, answered, “I- I guess?”

Tim nodded, leading her up to the stairs to his apartment, and she looked around like she expected the walls to start bleeding at any moment. Tim rolled his eyes, then commented, “Y’know, I really don’t understand why everyone is so freaked out by this place. I mean, sure, the building is on the old side, but that’s hardly any reason for everyone to act like this place is cursed.”

Steph shifted, then replied, “Everyone says that people who stay here have these awful nightmare vision things that’ll drive them mad. Have you…”

She trailed off, looking at Tim expectantly, and he raised an eyebrow, answering, “Steph, I’ve spent the last week and a half pretty much subsisting off of chicken nuggets, cough syrup, and medicine that apparently doubled as a sedative. _Obviously_ I’ve had some weird dreams. I have weird dreams every time I take cough syrup or sedatives. Any drowsy sort of medicine, really. But it’s not anything that’d drive me insane.”

Steph nodded, looking around the apartment again, then stated, “It looks so… _normal_. Everyone hypes it up as some sort of occult hellhole.”

“Then apparently everyone is stupid.”

Steph made a face at Tim and he shrugged, taking another sip of his tea before plopping down on his couch. Steph joined him a moment later and they soon settled into comfortable conversation. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Steph headed out an hour or two to let Cass and Bart and Conner know that Tim was fine and Tim yawned, then nearly had a heart attack when his phone started blasting Dick’s ringtone. Tim smiled, picking up the phone, and answered, “Hey, Dick. What’s-”

“You’re an asshole, Tim.”

Tim grinned, no doubt looking completely feral, and asked, “Oh? What makes you say that?”

Dick growled, then snapped, “There is glitter all over my desk and chair at work and I called into my boss’s office to explain why I was covered in red glitter, you little shit. If I open the envelope you sent to my apartment and it’s full of glitter, I swear to god I’m flying out there and strangling you.”

Tim’s grin got even wider, but he kept his delight out of his voice as he answered, “It’s not full of glitter, Dick.”

There was a beat of suspicious silence, then the sound of tearing paper, followed by Dick yelping, “Mother- Fuck you, Tim!”

Tim burst into laughter that then devolved into coughing. When he could finally breathe again, he wiped his teary eyes and stated, “Think of it like this, Dick, you’ll always have something from me with you. Mostly ‘cause you’ll never escape it, but I digress.”

Dick replied with a string of swears that would make Alfred wash his mouth out with soap and Tim grinned like a lunatic as his phone beeped with an incoming call from Bruce. Tim said his goodbyes, then hung up and answered Bruce’s call, greeting, “Hey, B, what’s up?”

Bruce was silent for several long seconds, then answered, “This was incredibly immature, Tim.”

“Boo hoo. It made me feel better and that’s the important thing.”

He could hear Bruce grit his teeth, then Bruce finally stated, “Alfred told me I deserved it.”

“And Alfred is always right.”

Bruce was silent for several more seconds and finally sighed, “I suppose I can hardly argue with that.”

Tim laughed and said his goodbyes, then set his phone down and gathered the blanket around himself and shuffled into the kitchen to get dinner.


	6. Chapter 6

Tim sent Bruce the second envelope of glitter the next day, grinning so widely that his cheeks hurt. Jason raised an eyebrow at him, busily rearranging his books as Tim peered out the window to watch the mailman come around to collect the mail, but Tim ignored it, far too pleased with himself. Finally, once the mailman was gone, Tim turned to Jason and offered, “So. Want some help around the shop?”

Jason’s eyebrow raised higher and, after a moment, walked over and patted Tim on the top of the head like a child, answering, “You’re adorable. Just sit there and drink your tea.”

Tim blushed to the tips of his ears, curling up to huddle around his mug, and Jason continued his rearranging until Tim finally asked, “So, do you have any actual reason for rearranging your books or is it just to give you something to do?”

Jason paused, then replied, “A little of both. It’s… hard to explain.”

Tim nodded, taking a sip of his tea, then after a few more minutes, requested, “May I ask a possibly dumb question?”

“Pretty sure you just did, but go ahead.”

“Would it be- Hey! That was rude!”

Jason gave Tim a sly smirk that made Tim’s slowly receding blush flare right back up, then teased lightly, “You walked straight into that one, Tim.”

Tim pouted at him, taking a sip from his mug, then continued, “Anyway, would it be okay if I borrowed some of your books occasionally? I’ll bring them back, of course, and I’m willing to pay for them, but-”

Jason smiled slightly, fond and yet somehow a little sad, and answered, “Of course you can. No payment necessary. And if you ever want to talk about them… Well. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to talk about books with someone.”

Something in his tone made Tim want to hug him, but he pushed that desire down, instead teasing, “Dangerous words, Mr. Todd. Last person who offered to talk books with me ended up getting a forty-five minute lecture, complete with a slideshow and textual evidence, explaining exactly how Jane Eyre can be interpreted as bisexual.”

Jason stared at him with a look that could only be described as ‘childish glee’, then answered, “You say that like you expect it to scare me off, but I honestly just want to hear that lecture now. Please?”

The excited look in Jason’s eyes, the most emotion Tim had seen from him in their time together, made Tim’s organs feel all warm and squirmy and Tim untangled himself from the blanket, setting his mug down.

“Let me go grab my laptop. I should still have the slideshow saved in my old files somewhere.”

Jason nodded and Tim made his way up the stairs, grabbing his laptop and wireless mouse before taking a few deep breaths to remind himself that he had no idea which way Jason swung and that falling for him would be foolish at best. Once he had sufficiently calmed himself down, he headed back down and found Jason pulling out a projector that Tim could hook his laptop up to. He aimed it at where a plain white sheet had been hung up against the wall, then sat in his armchair with a well-worn copy of Jane Eyre, a pencil, and a notepad, stating, “The floor is yours, Mr. Drake.”

Tim hooked his laptop up to the projector, pulling up the slideshow, and began his lecture, using his mouse to click through the slides. Jason looked utterly delighted as Tim talked, taking notes and interjecting a few places to ask questions or debate small points. Tim felt rather like he had swallowed every butterfly in the world as they talked and debated and, as they slowly wound down, Jason smiled softly.

“I’ve never met anyone who would actually debate books with me with as much passion as I have.”

“You and me both, Jason. I’ll admit, classical literature isn’t usually my wheelhouse, since I tend towards science fiction and non-fiction, but I definitely think I could learn to love the classics if I get to debate them with you.”

Jason’s cheeks turned pink and Tim’s followed suit as he realized how flirty that sounded. Then Jason offered, “I have a copy of Frankenstein, if you’ve never read it. I’d love to hear your thoughts on it.”

Tim lit up, answering, “I have read it, but it’s been a long time, so I should definitely re-read it.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tim stayed up most of the night re-reading Frankenstein and putting together his slideshow and case for debate. He had just put the finishing touches on the slideshow, saving it and finishing his final sip of cold coffee, when a knock at his door just about scared him half to death. He set his empty mug down, then walked over to the door, opening it to find Jason with a tray of divine-smelling cinnamon rolls and a plate of bacon. Tim blinked at him, trying to process, and Jason blushed slightly, stating, “I, uh, made cinnamon rolls and figured I’d bring you some.”   
  


Tim grinned, stepping back to allow Jason in, and answered, “I’ll make coffee. Do you want some?”

Jason smiled slightly, then answered, “I actually prefer tea, but if you get some hot water, I’ll go grab my tea from my place.”

“Sounds good. I’ll get plates and stuff.”

Jason disappeared into his own apartment and Tim retrieved plates and silverware from his cabinets, taking them over to the coffee table where the cinnamon rolls were sitting as the coffee maker began heating the water. Jason returned a moment later with a small container of Earl Gray tea and a tea strainer. Tim retrieved the mug of hot water, then, as Jason measured out his tea leaves and dropped the strainer into the water, glanced at the container of tea and commented, “My pseudo-grandfather loves Earl Gray tea.”

Jason smiled slightly, then answered, “Nice. This is actually a really crappy brand, but the grocery store delivered the wrong brand and it wasn’t worth the headache of going in and trying to get the right brand.”

Tim nodded, making a mental note, then asked, “Do you want cream or anything for it?”

Jason paused, then answered, “Do you have sugar?”

Tim thought for a moment, then walked over to his kitchen and sorted through his bucket of random take-out packets, finally finding a handful of sugar packets from the coffee shop he used to go to on his way to work. He brought them over to Jason, who emptied one into his cup, then asked, “What kinds of tea do you like?”

Jason’s eyes lit up and, as they ate the delicious cinnamon rolls and bacon that Jason had made, he laid out his favorite kinds of teas, which, at the end of his rant, Tim summed up as, “So you’re a fan of basically any tea?”

Jason blushed, laughing a little, and answered, “That’s the short version, yes.”

Tim nodded, already plotting, and they fell into a comfortable silence.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Tim had eaten enough cinnamon rolls and bacon to feel ready to burst, he finally stretched and stood, stating, “So, I finished Frankenstein last night.”

“And?”

“And high-school me missed out on  _ so much _ reading it for my freshman English class. I can’t even begin to describe to you how mad I am at my freshman English teacher now for not teaching it well.”

Jason laughed, a full-belly laugh that made Tim’s insides feel squirmy and warm, and answered, “I understand that feeling all too well, Tim.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Four hours later, they had finished their debate and Jason checked his watch, then stated, “I’d better head down, I have a delivery in a few minutes. We should do this again.”

“Oh, absolutely. This is awesome.”

Jason gave Tim a smile, then stepped out, heading down the stairs. Tim closed the door, then slid down to sit against it, buried his face in his knees, and internally screamed for a bit because he was totally crushing on Jason.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once he had finished internally screaming, Tim got up and walked over to grab his phone, pulling up the Manor’s home number and hitting call. Alfred picked up on the first ring, as usual, and Tim greeted, “Hey, Alfred. How’s everything at the house?”

Alfred’s voice was warm and fond as he answered, “Quite well, Master Tim. I must say, it is quite good to hear from you.”

“It’s good to hear from you too, Alfred. May I make an odd request?”

“Of course, Master Tim.”

“I have a, uh,  _ friend _ up here who really likes tea. I was hoping you could send me a few of the fancy teas from that one teashop you like? I’ll pay you back, of course.”

“I would be delighted, Master Tim. Does this  _ friend _ have any specific preferences?”

“He made it pretty clear that he likes every type of tea, so I’ll trust your judgement in tea to choose some good ones.”

“I shall strive to send them within the week.”

“Thanks, Alfred. I really appreciate it.”

“Of course, Master Timothy.”


	7. Chapter 7

One week after their breakfast/book club meeting, a moderately sized cardboard box arrived, addressed to Tim, from Wayne Manor. Tim eyed it suspiciously, not putting it above Dick or Bruce to send him glitter in retaliation, and promptly took the package outside to the small gazebo tucked behind the building that, according to Jason, his friend Roy had built as a place for Jason to sit and read when it was nice out. He set it on the nice wooden table, then poked around near the edge of the woods behind the building until he found a suitable stick. Once he had a stick, he slit the tape open with his key and used the stick to flip the box flaps open, expecting an explosion of glitter. When none came, he cautiously moved closer, peering into the box and relaxing when he saw several tins of very nice tea and a note. Tossing the stick aside, Tim scooped the box up and headed back up to his apartment, eager to see what teas Alfred had sent and, more importantly, eager to see what Jason thought of them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tim had to admit, Alfred had gone above and beyond, as per usual. Not only had he sent Tim several very high-quality teas, including a tin of excellent Earl Gray, he had also sent a large box of his walnut chocolate chip cookies. Tim, being the paragon of self-control, had managed to restrain himself to only wolfing down three of them before putting the box in the kitchen. Once he had sorted through the package, Tim gathered up the six tins of tea Alfred had sent and went down to the backroom of the store, where Jason was sitting in his armchair, reading and annotating a book. Tim plopped down in his own armchair and, without preamble, announced, “I come bearing gifts.”

“That so? Are any of these gifts glitter-based?”

Tim pouted at Jason, who hadn’t even looked up from his book and reached over to drop the tin of Earl Gray in Jason’s lap.

“No, you jerk, they’re not. After our Frankenstein discussion and your tea rant, I called my sorta-grandpa and asked him to send me some of the fancy teas that he likes as repayment for the whole, y’know, ‘not letting me die of bronchitis’ thing.”

Jason startled at the sudden appearance of tea in his lap and finally looked at Tim, stating, “I already told you that you didn’t need to repay me.”

“Tough shit.”

He proceeded to dump the peach tea, vanilla chai tea, white jasmine tea, green mango raspberry tea, and cinnamon maple tea into Jason’s lap and Jason blinked down at them, then looked up at Tim with wide eyes, a blush creeping up his neck. Tim felt a blush starting to rise in his cheeks and Jason finally smiled, warm and sweet and bright enough to make Tim feel a little like he was combusting as he returned to his own armchair. Jason looked back at the teas, then stated, “Thank you, Tim. I really appreciate this. And tell your sorta-grandpa that I said he has excellent taste in tea.”

Tim grinned, face still warm, and answered, “I’ll pass the message along.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An hour later, Tim slumped into the seat across from Steph, Cass, and Conner in ‘their’ booth at Bart’s restaurant. He dropped his head onto the table, then whined, “I’m really, really, really screwed, you guys.”

Steph made a semi-interested noise, then asked, “Does this have anything to do with your spooky landlord?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’m not interes- Wait, really? Tell me everything.”

Tim lifted his head to glare at her and Conner raised an eyebrow, asking, “Did he do something? Do I need to beat your scary landlord’s ass? Because I will. I’ll probably die in the process, but I’ll do it.”

Cass nodded and Tim dropped his head back onto the table, then jolted when Bart suddenly slid into the seat beside him, asking, “What’s this about beating Tim’s scary landlord’s ass?”

“No one is beating Jason’s ass, you jerks. And he’s not scary. He’s actually really sweet and it’s starting to become a problem.”

There was a beat of silence, then Steph apparently connected the dots and gasped needlessly loudly, shouting, “OH MY GOD, TIM! YOU’RE CRUSHING ON _JASON FUCKING TODD_?”

Tim jolted up, shoving his hand over her mouth to shut her up, then slumped back down in his seat as everyone in the restaurant stared at him and flopped across the table, giving a pathetic little whine and muttering, “Maybe yell it a little louder, Steph, I don’t think the whole town heard you.”

“Wait, seriously, bro? _No fucking way_! No way you’re crushing on your scary landlord. Nuh-uh. Not possible.”

Tim glared at Conner, then at Cass as she patted his head patronizingly. 

“You’re all assholes and I don’t know why I’m friends with any of you. Fuck you all.”

“Dude! How the fuck are you crushing on Creepy McCreepster the Landlord? Is he doing weird occult stuff to make you fall in love with him? Is he putting love potions in the water so that you never move out?!?”

Bart lurched forward, grabbing Tim’s face in his hands and squishing Tim’s cheeks as he stared into Tim’s eyes, continuing manically, “Tim, _Tim_ , is he drugging you into loving him?”

Tim batted at Bart’s hands, then griped, “You guys don’t even know him, why do you all assume that he’s weird and creepy? And no, Bart, he’s not drugging me or anything, you absolute lunatic. He’s just really nice and unfairly hot and I’m weak, okay? That’s it.”

Bart narrowed his eyes at Tim, but ultimately released Tim’s face and plopped back into his seat, announcing, “Fine. But I still don’t trust him.”

Tim rubbed his cheeks, glowering at his friends, then asked, “Seriously, what the Hell? Why does everyone in town hate him? What do all of you know that I don’t?”

Steph looked at Conner, then at Cass, then answered, “Look, I don’t know about anyone else, but I just… I get weird vibes from him, y’know? Him and that bookstore and that whole street. And the fact that he never really _leaves_ his shop and just orders everything to be delivered, the fact that I don’t think anyone has ever seen him smile or speak to anyone but you, and everything with the previous tenants never lasting more than a week… It’s just unsettling.”

Cass nodded her agreement and Conner added, “I get weird vibes from him, too. And there’s rumors that he killed the previous owner of the shop before he came here.”

Tim frowned at them and Bart shifted nervously, then chimed in, “And… And there’s the rumors that Jason died and came back.”

Tim turned to look at him, then asked, “What?”

Bart nodded, looking around like he expected Jason to pop out and strangle him, then leaned in closer and whispered, “According to my grandpa, he left Hood when he was 15 to go find his mom in Ethiopia. And then there were reports that he’d been killed in an explosion and he didn’t come back to Hood, not for nearly four years, and when he showed back up, that white streak in his hair had showed up and his eyes had changed color. Apparently he holed himself up in his shop and the only people he would talk to for like three years were Roy Harper’s family. And then, when Roy Harper and his family moved, Jason started renting out the other apartment and the tenants reported having nightmares about dying in an explosion. My grandpa thinks that Jason is using magic to make other people experience his death in their dreams so he can feed off their fear.”

_...his eyes caught on an enormous bomb connected to a timer…_

_...He looked like Jason. Somehow, someway, he looked like Jason, if Jason lost ten years and about 150 pounds…_

_...The world went white and hot and Tim- or was he Jason- couldn’t breath, he was choking, ash and smoke and pain, so much pain, he was suffocating, he was going to die here and no one would ever-_

Tim shoved the memory of his dream away, then scoffed and answered, “Bullshit. Sounds to me like he’s just a weird dude who isn’t very social and the small town rumor mill went crazy.”

Bart shrugged and Cass gave Tim an appraising look, but said nothing. 


	8. Chapter 8

When Tim returned to the bookshop after lunch with his friends, he found a man with long red hair in a ponytail standing in the bookshop, sorting through the books. A girl about 7 was standing at the counter, practically bouncing on her toes, and a woman with red hair down to her ankles was leaning against the counter beside the little girl, tapping on her phone and, inexplicably, wearing short-shorts and a crop top despite the sub-zero weather. The man looked over as Tim opened the door, then raised an eyebrow and asked, “Are you Jaybird’s new tenant?”

Tim raised an eyebrow back, then answered, “Yeah. You are?”

The man smiled slightly, then stuck out his hand for Tim to shake, replying, “Roy Harper. I’m one of Jason’s old friends.”

Tim shook Roy’s hand, commenting, “He’s mentioned you, once or twice.”

“Oh, damn, he actually talks to you?”

“Yeah? Why do you sound so surprised by that?”

Roy shrugged, waving a hand dismissively, then answered, “Never mind, it’s-”

“Our Jason does not often speak with others. You must be quite special.”

Tim blushed, then argued, “I think he just didn’t want me to die of bronchitis and then would’ve felt guilty about giving me the cold shoulder afterwards.”

The woman gave him a doubtful look. 

  
  
“Unlikely. Our Jason is-”

She was cut off by the door to the stairs opening and Jason scolding, “Hey, no, no harassing my tenant.”

The little girl, who Tim was going to guess was probably Roy’s daughter Lian, squealed when she saw Jason and launched herself at him, shouting, “UNCLE JASON!”

Jason caught her easily, giving her a hug, and she scampered across him to sit on his shoulders, patting his head and announcing, “Daddy said that we’re here because you need to get-”

“Hey, woah, maybe don’t go repeating what I’ve said to Uncle Jason, alright, Princess?”

Lian blinked at Roy with big brown doe eyes, then answered, “But why, Daddy? You said it’s not nice to talk about people behind their backs.”

Roy groaned, putting his head in his hands.

“I’ll let you stay up an extra hour and give you an extra portion of dessert if you pinky promise not to tell Uncle Jason what I said.”

Lian hummed thoughtfully, looking down at Jason, then held out one hand, pinky extended. Roy hooked pinkies with her, shaking once, then relaxed slightly. Jason rolled his eyes, looking impossibly fond, then introduced, “Lian, Kori, jackass, this is Tim. He’s staying in the other apartment. Tim, meet Lian, Kori, and Roy.”

The woman, Kori, stepped forward to shake Tim’s hand and Tim couldn’t help but notice that she seemed to be almost radiating heat. Lian waved from her perch on Jason’s shoulders and Tim gave her a smile, waving back before Jason gestured for Roy and Kori to follow him, walking back upstairs with Lian perched on his shoulders. Tim smiled, then headed up to his own apartment, flopping down on the couch to mull over everything that he had learned from Steph, Cass, Bart, and Conner.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, Tim woke up to someone knock on his door. He groaned, bundling himself up in the fuzzy blanket Jason had given him, then shuffled over to the door and opened it to find Kori standing outside it. She gave Tim a smile, then stated, “Jason sent me to invite you over for breakfast.”

Tim blinked, then answered, “Oh, uh, alright. Let me get changed real quick.”

Kori nodded, stating, “I will leave the door unlocked for you to come in once you are ready.”

Then she was disappearing back into Jason’s apartment and Tim was left standing in his doorway, still half-asleep and processing. He stared at the door to Jason’s apartment for several long seconds, then shook himself and closed his door, going to change into a pair of warm jeans and his nicest t-shirt and hoodie. Then he walked over to Jason’s door and, despite Kori telling him to just come in, he still knocked, wondering if he was dreaming. The door opened almost immediately, Roy standing on the other side, and he beckoned Tim in, shooting Jason a look. The apartment was similar to Tim’s, with a slightly larger kitchen where Jason was making pancakes, Lian perched on his shoulders. Tim couldn’t help but smile slightly at the sight as Jason snuck Lian chocolate chips and Roy rolled his eyes, dramatically griping, “My own child likes her uncle more than she likes me.”

“She only prefers Jason because he sneaks her treats and can be the cool uncle.”

Roy pouted, muttering something that sounded vaguely like “Sellout”, then dropped onto the couch beside Kori. 

“So, Tim, how long’ve you been living across from Jaybird?”

“Uh, about a month.”

Roy whistled, commenting, “Damn, I think that’s the longest anyone’s ever stayed.”

He then, very unsubtly, turned to stare at Jason. Jason responded by reaching up to cover Lian’s ears and stating, “Fuck off, Harper.”

Lian giggled as Jason pulled his hands away and Roy stuck his tongue out at Jason, then looked back at Tim, who felt a little like a sample under a microscope. Roy scrutinized Tim for a moment and Kori finally asked, “What brought you to Hood?”

“Long story. My brother convinced my dad to basically kick me out because I was ‘too stressed’ and ‘needed a vacation’.”

“Oh jeez. That’s pretty rough.”

“Yeah, Dick really lives up to his name sometimes.”

Roy blinked, then asked, “His name is Dick? Seriously?”

“Richard Grayson, but he goes by Dick, yeah.”

“Wait, wait, your brother is  _ Dick Grayson _ ?”

“Yes? Why, do you know him?”

Roy traded a look with Kori, then answered, “That’s, uh, one way to put it, yeah. Damn. Small world.”

Tim made a face, muttering, “Please tell me you’re not implying what I think you’re implying.”

“I would, but I’m a crap liar.”

Tim groaned, burying his face in his hands, and muttered, “Y’know, there’s some things a guy just doesn’t need to know about his older brother.”

“If it helps-”

“Please, for the love of all things good and pure in this world,  _ do not _ finish that sentence. I don’t want to know. I really don’t. I already know way, way,  _ way _ too much about Dick’s sex life, I really don’t need to know more.”

Roy laughed, holding up his hands, and answered, “Alright, alright, I’ll keep it to myself.”

“Harper, stop harassing Tim or I’ll kick you out in the snow.”

Roy snorted, then commented, “Y’know, Jaybird, it’s pretty rude of you to treat your best friend like this.”

“Since when were you my best friend? Last time I checked, you’re more like a stray dog I started feeding and that now won’t leave me alone. You’re only allowed in my house because I like Kori and Lian.”

“You wound me, Jaybird!”

“Don’t tempt me.”

Roy snorted again, flopping against Kori, and Kori politely asked, “What do you do for work, Tim?”

“Well, I used to pretty much run Wayne Enterprises, but I’m currently on paid leave because of the aforementioned getting basically kicked out.”

Kori nodded sympathetically and they made small talk for a bit before Jason brought a plate of pancakes over, plopping into the open chair, Lian still perched on his shoulders. He passed plates to Tim and Kori, then when Roy reached for one, smacked Roy’s hand and scolded, “Nuh-uh, you were being a jerk, you get to wait until everyone else gets food.”

Roy pouted and Tim pressed a hand to his mouth to stifle his laughter, then took two pancakes and stated, “Thank you for inviting me for breakfast.”

Jason smiled, his ears turning pink and Roy snickered, prompting Jason to send him a glare and smack his leg. 


End file.
